Skyscraper in Chechnya in flames

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STORY: A 40-story skyscraper in Russia's Grozny caught fire Wednesday, burning a building where French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu reportedly owned an apartment.

Footage from Russian television and amateur video showed the building engulfed in flames with an enormous plume of black smoke rising over the city.

Russian tabloids reported that Depardieu owned an apartment on the 27th floor of the skyscraper.

The majority of the building's 40 floors were on fire, according to Russian news reports, with more than 100 firefighters working to put out the blaze.

Dozens of people were evacuated from the building, but no information was available on any injuries or whether people were trapped inside.

There are no immediate reports on what caused the fire.